


curiosity killed the cat

by Light_Within_Darkness



Category: Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Ambiguous Character Death, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Animal Sacrifice, Canonical Character Death, Community: snkkink, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, For The Kink Meme!, Gen, Insanity, Lovecraftian Horror, Originally Posted Elsewhere, brief mention of cults, could be something else happens, could be they die, nyarlathotep being a sneaky lil shit, outer gods being scary, seriously it gets pretty messed up at the end, tw: really dark and scary shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-06
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-23 18:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1574768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Light_Within_Darkness/pseuds/Light_Within_Darkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Far outside the Walls, there lies the ruins of a castle.</p>
<p>Deep within these ruins there is a book, and a being who sometimes takes on the guise of a man.</p>
<p>The sometimes-man gives the book to a boy who can turn into a monster.</p>
<p>This is the story of the end of the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	curiosity killed the cat

**Author's Note:**

> This is in response to a prompt on the Dreamwidth SnK Kink Meme. Both the prompt and my original fill can be found here: http://snkkink.dreamwidth.org/8414.html?page=27#comments
> 
> I've been a great fan of Lovecraftian horror ever since I was a teenager, so I jumped at the chance to write some of it for SnK. Because the anime and manga aren't dark and horrible enough, of course. /sarcasm
> 
> This think took me a month to write because I am a slow writer. As usual, it also became a 13-ish page behemoth. I'm uploading it all in oneshot form for you guys, though.
> 
> WARNING: There is a brief scene of animal sacrifice towards the end. And things get dark. Really dark and messed up. If you've ever read any of Lovecraft's works (and I highly recommend it if you haven't), then you know what I mean.
> 
> If OP sees this, I hope they can forgive my lateness. ;-;
> 
> enjoy~

Night had nearly fallen by the time the Survey Corps stumbled across the ruins. It was hardly the first time they had run into the crumbling walls and caved-in roofs of age-old structures; relics of the time before the Titans had come, when humanity was free to live as they chose outside of the towering Walls. Such places provided a welcome safety from the elements and wild animals at night, and made for good bases to store supplies for use during future expeditions. Typically, finding one of these long-abandoned buildings was cause for relief, heralding a much-anticipated rest after a long, hard day.

But not this time. 

The moment the crumbling stone wall was spotted, its rough and uneven edges rising above the smaller trees around it, a chill ran down the spines of the Survey Corps soldiers. None could describe what it was that unnerved them so. There was nothing about the place that seemed to suggest anything different from any of the other ruins that littered the world outside the Walls. Yet every soldier had the same feeling of warning, the kind of feeling one might get while wandering the alleyways at night in the seedier districts of a city. It was the simple, animal feeling of _danger._ Everyone who felt it then wanted nothing more than to run from the old ruin, to keep running and not look back until as much space was put between the Survey Corps and it as possible. Even the horses were uneasy, whinnying and stamping their feet as if they'd just been spooked.

However, the fact remained that night would be falling soon. The sky had already turned the soft, husky purple of twilight, quickly darkening to black. The edges of things were made soft and indistinct by the fading light, and it was getting difficult to see the path up ahead. Before long, visibility would be impossible without torches, and there would be no way for the Survey Corps to find a better place to spend the night. So Commander Smith decided that they would sleep in the ruin before them. After all, the soldiers told themselves, as they all tied their horses up outside and retrieved their packs from the supply wagons, there couldn't possibly be anything in there that was more frightening than a Titan.

The old building was huge, probably a former castle or manor house for some wealthy lord or lady. It looked pretty typical for these sorts of places as well. There were huge holes in the roof, where the Corps could see stars appearing in the darkening sky above. The stone floor and walls were cracked and crumbling, half-covered over in weeds and moss. There were centuries' worth of dust and animal droppings in the corners - Petra noticed that Corporal Levi was pointedly _not_ looking at the corners. Here and there remains of what must have been priceless tapestries and carpets could be seen, though they were now so ragged and moth-eaten that the fabric was useless even as rags. Scattered about the place were quickly rotting and mostly disintegrated pieces of wood that might have once been furniture, but was now only useful as firewood. Half of the staircase had crumbled completely away, so whatever was on the upper floors of the place would remain a complete mystery.

Levi led his squad over to the cleanest section of the floor, and declared that they would sleep there. Squad Leader Hanji and her men joined them shortly, as did the former 104th Trainee Division. A fire was started, and the soldiers all spread out their bedrolls out close to the warm, crackling flames. After a quick and (as usual) unpleasant meal of tinned field rations, everyone laid down to do to sleep. Levi tied Eren's wrists firmly behind his back beforehand, so that he wouldn't accidentally bite his hand in his sleep and become a Titan.

Comforted by the fact that the old ruin wasn't actually infested with some kind of horrible danger, most of the Survey Corps fell asleep quickly. The place was soon filled with rhythmic breathing and snores of all imaginable kinds and volumes. Eren Jaeger, however, seemed unable to fall asleep. It wasn't the fact that his arms were uncomfortable - he'd grown used to that after spending night after night chained up in the dungeon. No, Eren's problem was that the strange feeling of danger that everyone had felt originally just wouldn't seem to leave him. There was just something incredibly _wrong_ about the place, and it was driving Eren crazy that he couldn't place it. A kind of itchy, pulling feeling tugged at the inside of his head, as if Eren's skull was filled with a swarm of insects. The shadows in the corners seemed darker, somehow, and they moved and danced eerily across the old stone walls. It sent shivers down Eren's spine to look at them for too long.

_Don't be stupid,_ Eren scolded himself mentally. _What are you, five? Seeing shadows move in the firelight scares you now, after everything you've been through?_ He sighed harshly and watched the stars and moon wheel overhead through the hole in the ceiling above him. Perhaps going outside for a moment and getting some fresh air would help clear his head.

"Um...Captain Levi, sir?" Eren whispered loudly, hoping that his superior officer was awake enough to hear him. "I need to go to the bathroom. Could you untie me, please?"

Levi sat up immediately. It never failed to surprise Eren that his commanding officer could go from fast asleep to fully awake and alert in only a few seconds. Or perhaps he, like Eren, was having similar troubles in falling asleep? He didn't ask. 

"Alright Jaeger," Levi said, expertly picking the knots of Eren's bonds free. "I don't think you need me to stand out there and watch you piss, so I'm going to let you go out yourself. Be back here in two minutes, am I understood? I won't be happy if I have to come out and drag your ass back in here."

"Yes sir," Eren said quickly, standing up and rubbing at his wrists where the material had chafed. He picked up his pack as well, since it had toilet paper and his canteen in it. "Thank you, sir."

Levi only grunted in affirmation before laying back down in his bedroll. Eren went outside, carefully stepping over the sleeping bodies of his comrades and picking around the larger cracks in the floor that could easily pinch a toe and trip you up. It seemed that the shadows stretched along the wall after him like long, spindly fingers, and Eren once again scolded himself for getting unnerved by silly things.

The air outside felt cool and fresh against Eren's face, a welcome relief from the smell of a hundred unwashed bodies lying together in close quarters inside. The moon was almost full, a heavy pearl amidst a sea of sparkling stars, and it washed Eren's surroundings in a pale, silvery light. A pale gleam caught Eren's eye, originating in the forest just beyond the old ruin. Eren frowned slightly upon seeing it. A Titan, maybe, frozen in the lack of sunlight? But Titans didn't glow when the moon shone down on them...right?

Confused and curious, Eren started walking into the forest. _I'll just take a quick peek at whatever it is, and then go back inside so that the Captain doesn't get mad at me,_ he decided. Carefully stepping through the forest underbrush so as not to make any noise, Eren rounded the thick trunk of a tree and came upon the source of the strange white glow.

It was a large chunk of rubble, about the size of an average toolshed, and mostly covered in moss and lichens. For some reason the moon was shining strongly down upon it, causing the few spots of marble that weren't obscured by plant growth to almost glow in the darkness. What with everyone working to secure the horses and prepare for bed before night fell, it was no surprise that this particular piece of rubble had gone unnoticed.

A breeze swept through the forest, ruffling Eren's already messy hair and causing the branches of the trees around him to sway and creak ominously. The tree trunks were like black silhouettes against the darkness, their gnarled and twisted branches reaching up towards the sky like scraping claws. Eren swallowed thickly. It seemed that he couldn't quite escape the primal fear of darkness common to all of humanity.

The breeze had pushed aside some of the hanging mosses, revealing a surprisingly square-shaped opening in the old marble. A...door? Terribly curious now, and with that strange itching in his head growing stronger, Eren found himself walking forwards to brush his hand against it. The door was probably rusted completely over at this point, or the room beyond it would be caved in, and then Eren would turn back and go inside like he was supposed to...

The door swung open the moment Eren touched his fingers against the old metal, its rusted hinges squealing ominously. A blast of cold air emerged, causing the hairs on Eren's arms to stand up. He peered curiously down into the opening, expecting to see nothing but darkness. Half of him wished he'd thought to bring a light, while the other half was terrified of what might have been illuminated if Eren had one.

It wasn't entirely dark inside, however. There was a faint light at the very bottom of the room within, as if someone was down there with a torch or lantern. Eren felt a prickle of cold fear run through his body, as if someone had just dropped a chip of ice down the back of his shirt. Was there someone else from the Survey Corps down there? But why would they be?

_You should really go back now,_ said the sensible part of Eren's mind, which always seemed to speak with Armin's voice. _Just go back inside, go to sleep, and then tomorrow you'll leave and you can forget that you ever saw any of this._

But what if someone _was_ down there? Perhaps a soldier had spotted this place earlier, and had sneaked outside earlier in order to do some exploring? It seemed like something a Hanji-minded individual might do. Maybe they'd gotten hurt or stuck somehow, and couldn't get back to the main part of the ruins. "Hello?" Eren called softly down into the darkness, his voice echoing against the stone.

There was no response. Perhaps whoever it was had fallen unconscious? What if they were seriously injured?

Eren swallowed once more, willing his limbs to move from where they felt as if frozen to the ground. Fear was lancing through him, a deep primal fear, and the buzzing in his brain was bordering on painful. _Someone's down there who might need help,_ he told himself firmly, and Eren managed to force himself to move forward.

A flight of stairs led down, stone by the feel of it. Eren took them slowly, one at a time, dreading that his foot would break through at any moment and send him plunging down into the thick, inky blackness below. There were a few ominous crumbling noises, but Eren finally made his way down. His heart was beating fit to burst as he faced the source of that strange light.

It was an oil lamp, illuminating a small, circular chamber. Parts of the walls were covered in strange, dark splashes that Eren didn't want to look too closely at. Through the dust and debris, Eren could see strange symbols drawn on, and in some cases etched into, the stone. Many of them were colored with a curiously red substance that Eren hoped wasn't blood. He had no idea what any of the symbols meant, or why they were there. For what purpose was this room created?

"Ah, hello there," a cool male voice sounded out from the thick shadows at the edges of the room. It was a noble-sounding voice, one that might have been heard in the palaces and mansions of Sina. Eren jumped about a foot off the ground and let out a yell of shock, whirling around to see a figure emerge from the darkness.

It was a man. Tall and thin, with rich bronze skin that almost seemed to shine in the faint light of the lamp. He was barefoot, and wearing the most luxurious robe Eren had ever seen in his life. It was a soft-looking fabric that flowed around his body as he moved, a dark purple-blue in color. The large, broad collar was gold leaf, with precious gems of red and black and green set in it. His head was covered by a strange ribbed cowl of some sort, made of rich dark fabric with a tiny golden snake's head at the top of it.

Eren's mouth worked furiously for a moment. So many questions were running through his mind that he couldn't decide what he wanted to know first. His heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute. "Who - who are you?" He finally managed to choke out in a strangled sort of whisper.

The man smiled, a strangely sinister thing that caused the hairs on the back of Eren's neck to stand up. His eyes were like black pools, seeming to reflect none of the lamplight. "Who am I, indeed," he mused. "I have had many names, over the centuries. Each cult likes to give me their own, you see. Ahtu, the Black Wind, the Crawling Chaos, the God of a Thousand Forms...But you, dear boy, you may call me Nyarlathotep."

Eren felt even more confused now. Who the hell was this Nyarlathotep, and why was he down in a ruin that had been abandoned for centuries? Now that he'd spoken, it seemed that the questions wouldn't stop flowing. "How did you get down here?" He asked. "Where are you from? How did you know this place exists?"

Nyarlathotep moved to sit gracefully on a chunk of rock near the room's center. He chuckled slightly, a sound as dark and sinister as his smile. "This place isn't anything special," he said, shrugging a shoulder nonchalantly as if he routinely met people in abandoned places miles away from human civilization. "Some cultists used to worship here, is all. I would come by and observe them, now and again." 

"Cultists?" Although Nyarlathotep seemed to be answering his questions, Eren felt even more confused. "You mean...like the Wall Cult?"

The strange man's smile widened, showing off a set of very white teeth. They seemed to be a bit more pointed than was normal, and Eren found himself taking an involuntary step backwards. "The Wall Cult? I can't say that's one I've heard of. Then again, I suppose much of humanity's knowledge of the Outer Gods has died off by now, since so many of you are dead."

It was then that Eren noticed the book resting loosely in one of Nyarlathotep's long-fingered hands. Books were a rare thing, and this one looked older than most. The pages were almost completely yellowed with age, the black binding cracked and distorted. Eren had had an interest in books ever since Armin had shown him the one about the outside world so long ago. He opened his mouth to ask Nyarlathotep where he'd gotten it from, but the man beat him to it.

"Ah yes, this." Nyarlathotep brought the book forward and caressed the spine almost lovingly. "The _Necronomicon,_ written centuries ago by the Mad Arab Abdul al-Hazred. Yes, I'd left it here many years ago, and thought I'd go back to pick it up. It isn't like the cult is still around to make use of it. Probably all got eaten. Shame." The nonchalant way Nyarlathotep spoke made it glaringly obvious that he obviously didn't care a bit about whatever people used to come here. Eren backed up even further, letting out a slight yelp when his back hit the cold stone wall.

"But you know," Nyarlathotep said softly, almost thoughtfully, "it seems a shame for me to just take the book and leave. I won't have any use for it, after all." He got up and moved swiftly towards Eren with unnatural grace. Eren couldn't help cringing away from Nyarlathotep as the man stood a scant inch before him. He felt like a trapped rat. How could one man, who wasn't especially large or strong, possibly be this intimidating?

Was he even a man at all?

"Why don't you take the _Necronomicon,_ Eren Jaeger?" Nyarlathotep held the book out towards Eren. He was practically touching Eren, they were so close, and not a hint of warmth emanated from Nyarlathotep's body. The smell of old leather from the book filled Eren's nostrils. "Perhaps it can give you something you want?"

"How do you know my name?" Eren croaked out past the fear that was stopping his throat. He dearly wished that he'd never gone outside now. Surely Captain Levi was looking for him by now? He'd been gone much longer than two minutes, after all. 

"Doesn't everyone know your name, dear boy? _Humanity's Last Hope,_ correct?" Nyarlathotep stepped back slightly. "Everyone wants something, Eren. The _Necronomicon_ can give you what you desire."

Eren wasn't even conscious of taking the book from Nyarlathotep. He certainly hadn't intended to. His only instinct was to _run,_ to _get away_ from that place as fast as possible. He scrambled up the stairs as quick as he could, slipping and falling several times in his haste. He could have sworn that faint, horrible chuckle followed him all the way up.

He didn't stop running until he was just outside the old building, red-faced and gasping for breath. Eren's palms were steaming slightly, the skin healing over from where he'd cut his hands open falling on the stone. The book he was holding didn't seem to be affected. It looked, for all intents and purposes, just like a normal book, albeit a very old one. Eren was surprised he was still holding onto it.

He looked back over his shoulder. The forest was quiet behind him, the dark trees standing motionless. There wasn't even a hint of the small, strange place that Nyarlathotep had been in. _Everyone wants something,_ the man's cold voice echoed through Eren's skull like a biting wind.

Eren knew he should throw the book away. Nothing good could come from having it. But...it was still a book, and Eren hadn't seen one for such a long time. Surely it could do no harm to simply read a few pages? Then Eren would burn it, and he would never have to think on this incident again.

He surreptitiously stuffed the book into his pack and walked back to his bedroll. Levi was sitting up on his own bed, glaring at Eren as he went to lay down. "What the fuck, brat? I was just about to go out and look for you. You had to take a shit out there or something?"

Eren's eyes widened slightly in shock. He was certain that the Corporal would have been on the warpath searching for him, since he'd been gone much longer than two minutes. _Maybe I wasn't out for as long as I thought...?_ "Yes sir," Eren said, almost automatically, as his brain still was trying to process all that he'd seen. "I had to poop, sir."

Levi sighed harshly. "Just lay back down and let me tie your wrists up, Jaeger. I don't want you go on about your bowel movements all damn night."

Eren didn't sleep for the rest of the night. He simply laid awake on his bedroll until dawn, watching as the shadows crept and swirled on the walls around him.

**-x-**

The week after the expedition, Eren was kept busy with Hanji's experiments and training with Squad Levi. On top of all that were the hours he spent cleaning HQ, trying to adhere to the Corporal's incredibly high standards of cleanliness. For the most part, the _Necronomicon_ sat unread in the bottom of his pack.

Eren didn't dare to tell anyone else about the book. For one, he would get in an immense amount of trouble if anyone learned that he had gone off unsupervised. For another, the entire story just sounded crazy. Running into a strange man in the middle of nowhere, who happened to give Eren a book, of all things? People would think that Eren had gone off his rocker.

The few times Eren had been able to flip through the _Necronomicon's_ old, yellowed pages was after Levi had locked him up in the dungeon for the night. The Corporal was kind enough to leave the small candle he used to light the way downstairs burning on the small table outside Eren's cell, even after Levi himself had left. And despite the chains, Eren had enough mobility to get the book out of the pack beside his bed. 

What Eren read in the _Necronomicon_ was strange beyond belief. The book's pages were written with a narrow, slanting hand that at some parts was quite difficult to decipher. The book's writer seemed every bit as insane as Nyarlathotep had said he was. The _Necronomicon_ was filled with stories of all-powerful gods who lived in a distant realm, far beyond the Earth. There was Shub-Niggurath, and her vast brood of demonic children. There was the Mad God Azathoth, who was surrounded by a court of insane drummers. And the great Cthulhu, who lay asleep and dreaming at the bottom of the very ocean Eren wished so desperately to see. 

The book made Eren's head spin. There was no way any of this could possibly be true. The Earth itself was huge enough, but an entire realm beyond it? It seemed too much to even comprehend. Finally, growing frustrated with all the invocations to the various deities in the _Necronomicon,_ Eren flipped to the last few pages. The final section detailed all the ways in which someone could invoke one of these gods for personal gain. The part that especially interested Eren was about the god Yog-Sothoth, who was considered to be a "gate" of sorts to other realms, including the realm of Death. The _Necronomicon_ said that it was possible for things to enter and leave these realms through Yog-Sothoth.

Eren's mind spun at the implications. Did that mean...was it possible to bring someone back from Death this way? It couldn't be. And yet, Eren saw Nyarlathotep's terrible grin in his mind, and remembered what he had said: _"The_ Necronomicon _can give you what you want."_ Could Eren use this strange god, this Yog-Sothoth, as a way of bringing back everyone he had lost? His mother, Armin's grandfather, Mikasa's birth parents? And all the thousands of men and women who had been lost to the Titans over the years as well?

It seemed too good to be true. And yet, Eren knew that he had to try. 

**-x-**

Eren hadn't seen Mikasa and Armin much since the last expedition. He knew that Mikasa especially was fighting to get herself and Armin into Squad Levi so that they could be closer to Eren, but Levi was notoriously picky about who he let be on his squad. Not to mention, Levi and Mikasa had been on bad terms ever since Eren's military tribunal, so that was another factor that was working against them.

Luckily, Eren passed Armin and Mikasa on their way into the dining hall, just after Eren and the rest of Squad Levi had finished eating and were heading back. As usual, the three of them made a beeline for each other in order to exchange the few words they could before military duty sent them on their separate ways. "Listen guys," Eren said, before Mikasa could even open her mouth to interrogate him on how he was being treated. "I need you to sneak outside tomorrow afternoon around lunchtime, and meet me at the edge of the training grounds, near the forest. OK?"

Mikasa and Armin both looked confused. "Why?" Armin asked.

"Is something the matter?" Mikasa added, her brow furrowing with worry.

"I'm fine, I just have something I want to show you two," Eren said. "I don't have enough time to explain it all now."

Mikasa and Armin both looked like they were both intent on asking more questions, but were interrupted by Levi yelling at Eren from the end of the hall. "Jaeger! Quit fraternizing and get your ass over here!"

"Yes sir!" Eren responded. "Just meet me tomorrow, OK?" He whispered to Mikasa and Armin one more time, pulling them into a quick three-sided hug before hurrying to join up with his commanding officer.

**-x-**

Sneaking away the next afternoon was difficult for Eren, as expected. Since the military regarded him as a powerful yet highly unstable weapon, he wasn't allowed to be unsupervised except at night, when he was chained up and locked in a dungeon. It was aggravating, to say the least, but at least everyone Eren interacted with on a daily basis was sympathetic about it and didn't shadow him too closely. Hanji kept telling Eren that it was only a matter of time before she was able to scientifically prove that Eren wasn't dangerous at all, but he privately had his doubts about that. 

Luckily, Eren was assigned to practice 3D Maneuver Gear tactics with Auruo the next day. And out of all the members of Squad Levi, Auruo was the one who was most susceptible to bribes. He was also an unabashed lover of sweets, something that the average soldier didn't see much of. So it wasn't too hard to convince Auruo to give Eren an hour of privacy in the afternoon in exchange for Eren's chocolate pudding at dinner. After giving Auruo his solemn word that he would be back at HQ in exactly one hour and no later, Eren found himself zipping along through the trees to the edge of the training grounds.

Armin and Mikasa were already there, of course - not being Titan Shifters, it was much easier for the two of them to sneak off for an hour or so without being missed. The two of them ran over to Eren the second he reached the ground. "What's going on, Eren?" Mikasa asked, her dark eyes filled with concern. "What did you need to talk with us about?"

In reponse, Eren pulled out the _Necronomicon_ from where he'd tucked it away underneath his uniform jacket. Armin and Mikasa just stared at it. "What is that, Eren?" Armin asked, interest lacing his voice at the sight of the book. Then again, Eren didn't think that Armin had ever seen a book he wasn't interested in.

Now came the hard part: explaining the book to his friends. "This is going to sound crazy, but..." And Eren told the entire story of what had happened the night he'd first received the _Necronomicon,_ and had met the enigmatic and unnerving Nyarlathotep. He described the section in the _Necronomicon_ about Yog-Sothoth, and bringing back the dead. Mikasa and Armin didn't interrupt him, but Eren could tell they were unnerved based on the apprehension in Armin's eyes and the wrinkle in Mikasa's brow. 

After Eren finished, his two friends were quiet for a moment, processing all that he had said. Finally, Mikasa spoke. "Eren, why the _hell_ did you do that? You should know better than to be so reckless."

"I know, I know..." Eren sighed. He was used to Mikasa's motherly tendencies by now. "I was just - I was curious, OK? And I'm alright, so you don't need to worry."

"So...do you really think that book can bring back the dead?" Armin asked, before Mikasa could say anything else. He was still eyeing the _Necronomicon_ as thought it would jump up and try to bite him at any moment, but his voice sounded a bit more hopeful than scared. "I mean, it sounds impossible, for one thing. And from what you said, Eren, it doesn't sound like this Nyarlathotep guy is the kind of person who would give you this out of the kindness of his heart."

"You don't know anything about this book, Eren," Mikasa said sharply. "You know that there's no shortage of people out there who want you killed. This could be some kind of strange assassination plot, for all we know. I think that it would be best to burn it."

Eren looked down at the _Necronomicon,_ clenched tightly between his fingers. "Do you think I haven't thought about all of that?" He said. "I _have,_ you guys. I know Nyarlathotep seems like a shady guy at best. But...the fact is that this is just a book. It's not like I've died from touching it or anything. Odds are that if we try to summon this Yog-Sothoth thing here, nothing will happen."

"And if something does?" Armin asked.

"Well, then we get back everyone that we lost," Eren said, a spark of familiar fire entering his eyes. It was the look he got whenever he wanted to accomplish something, and woe to anyone who got in his way. "Your grandfather, Mikasa's parents, my mom. Everyone we lost at Trost. Everyone we lost during all the expeditions." Eren's voice got a little quieter then, as he shifted his gaze to look down at his feet. "We can bring back everyone...all the people who died on my account, in order to pave the way for me to seal up that hole in Wall Rose."

Mikasa and Armin looked at each other. Mikasa bit her lip in the way she did when she was seriously considering something. Armin's soft blue eyes had gone deadly serious, the way they did when he was thinking hard about something. The names of all their comrades in the 104th Trainee Corps who had died seemed to swirl in the air around them: _Mina. Thomas. Samuel. Nack. Franz. Hannah. Marco..._

They all missed the ones they had lost dearly. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin had all spent too may hours weeping and mourning over their families and comrades. The idea of actually being able to reunite with their loved ones once more, no matter how tenuous it might seem, was too tantalizing to ignore.

"If we tried this..." Armin said slowly, "then what would we need?"

**-x-**

Every member of the Survey Corps was given Saturday afternoons off, making it the single most anticipated day of the week for soldiers. Most of the rank and file Corps members spent their afternoons off in town - shopping, having a few drinks in one of the pubs, or visiting civilian friends and family members. Even Eren was allowed a few hours of time to spend with his friends, or to accompany Squad Levi into town. 

This Saturday, as usual, the training grounds would be deserted. It was the perfect time to attempt the ritual for summoning Yog-Sothoth. It seemed fairly simple, in theory. They needed to sacrifice a goat in the god's name, then draw a series of symbols and words in the ground with the goat's blood. If everything went well, Yog-Sothoth would appear after the three of them chanted an entreaty to him that was written in the Necronomicon.

Eren met Mikasa and Armin at the edge of the training grounds after lunch, as usual. Armin had brought the goat, which was tethered to a fence post nearby. He had the uncanny ability of being able to sweet-talk, reason, wheedle, or debate just about anything out of anybody. It was a highly useful ability, as the three of them would have starved to death in the refugee camps years ago, had it not been for Armin's ability to coerce shopkeepers into giving some poor orphaned children a bit of food. Any kind of livestock was a rare and precious thing, especially after the fall of Wall Maria, but of course Armin was able to get one.

Mikasa killed the animal swiftly, slicing a neat crimson gash across the major artery in its throat with her knife. The goat was only able to let out a single frightened bleat before it died. Eren shoved a bucket he'd taken from the stables underneath the wound, in order to catch the blood as it poured out. Eren and Mikasa then started drawing the symbols in the ground, dipping pointed reeds they'd gotten from the river nearby into the goat's blood. Armin directed them, the _Necronomicon_ lying open on his lap.

Chills ran down Eren's back as he worked. He didn't understand any of the things he was drawing - strange shapes that seemed to bend and twist and swirl unnaturally around each other, unrecognizable letters, and words in unknown languages. Eren could tell that Mikasa was feeling similarly, based on the uncertain sideways glances she kept giving him. But then Eren would think of his mother, of her screaming, panicked face just before the Smiling Titan devoured her, and he would keep going.

Over an hour had passed by the time they had finished. Eren and Mikasa went to stand next to Armin, whose trembling fingers opened to the page with the proper incantation on it. "Are...are you guys sure you want to go through with this?" He whispered.

Eren nodded, his eyes filled with that resolute gleam that had gotten them all in and out of trouble so often over the years. Mikasa nodded as well, a hand coming up to tug at her scarf from nerves. Armin turned his eyes towards the slanting scrawl on the page before him, then swallowed hard and began reading aloud in a slow, shaky voice.

"Y'ai'ng'nah, Yog-Sothoth, h'ee-l'geb f'ai throdog uaaah. Zyweso, wecato, keoso, Xunewe-rurom Xeverator. Menhatoy, Zywethorosto zuy, Zururogos Yog-Sothoth!"

The sun dipped behind a cloud, casting the training grounds into shadow. The wind picked up, whipping the trio's hair about their ears and shoulders. Eren shivered and leaned a bit closer to Eren and Mikasa. Armin's voice faltered, then picked up again as his friends laid comforting hands against his shoulders and back. "Orary Ysgewot, homor athanatos nywe zumquros, Ysechyroroseth Xoneozebethoos Azathoth!"

The clouds above grew darker, making it seem as if it was evening outside instead of only a little past noon. 

"Xono, Zuwezet, Quyhet kesos ysgeboth Nyarlathotep!"

The wind picked up, and Eren, and Mikasa closed their eyes against its sting. It felt as if a great storm was coming. Eren's bangs blew into his face, and Mikasa's scarf whipped about her head in two long, red trails. Armin was nearly drowned out by the sound of the tree limbs thrashing violently in the wind above them. "Keep going Armin!" Eren shouted out encouragement. "Keep going, you're almost there!"

Armin's face was growing increasingly more panic-stricken, his voice becoming high-pitched and choked with fear. He was gripping the _Necronomicon_ so tightly that his knuckles were white, in order to keep the pages from flying away in the wind. Despite it all, Armin continued to chant. "Zuy rumoy quano duzy Xeuerator, Ysheto, Thyym, quaowe xeuerator phoe nagoo, Hastur! Hagathowos yachyros Gaba Shub-Niggurath!"

The wind was practically shrieking now. Eren thought he might have heard a cry of alarm in the direction of HQ, but it was impossible to tell for sure. The very earth beneath them began to tremble, as if caught in the throes of a terrible nightmare. Eren's heart was thudding fit to burst out of his chest. Next to him, Mikasa was screaming. "Stop, Armin! Stop, stop! This is too much!"

But Armin did not stop. Not even when he dropped the _Necronomicon_ with shaking hands (the book was quickly swept up in the winds and blown off somewhere). Not even when he started to grasp and claw at his throat, blue eyes bulging in panic. Armin's face turned red, and the words were choked out of his mouth. "Can't...stop...Meweth, xosoy Vzewoth! K'thakluth m'khur'g ath'lys! IA, YOG-SOTHOTH! IA!"

The sky tore open. There was literally no other word for it. It was as if the dark clouds above them were nothing more than a flimsy sheet of tissue paper. Beyond, there was a void of infinite darkness. It was somehow more terrifying than the darkest nights, and all Eren could do was stare. He willed himself to turn away, to close his eyes, but it was as if his body had turned to stone. Dimly, he registered that someone nearby was screaming, but he couldn't tell if it was Mikasa or Armin. Maybe it was both of them. Eren couldn't even turn his head and look.

Then the orbs came down, moving soundlessly through the dark void to fill the air overhead. Each one was huge, about the size of a ten- or eleven-meter Titan. They somehow seemed to be every color at once, and pulsed with a kind of strange energy. The strange orbs simply hovered there, and a slight whimper escaped Eren's mouth. Whatever they were, these orbs gave off a sense of being _old,_ older by far than anything Eren had ever seen or heard of before. Was _this_ Yog-Sothoth, this horrible web of spheres that covered what was left of the sky?

The orb that was directly above Eren's head started to pulsate quickly, and seemed to almost open up. The strange, colorful bursts of energy within it had vanished, only to be replaced by a scene that was a hundred times more frightening than anything Eren had ever dreamed or imagined, more frightening than all the Titans in the world could ever hope to be.

Eren's ears were assaulted by the high pitched whine of flutes and the awful pounding of great drums. They made a horrible, senseless rhythm that was only made worse by the many wordless, shrieking voices that were woven in with that awful music. Hearing it made Eren feel as if his brain was being torn to shreds. He still couldn't tear his eyes away, but he managed to fall to his knees and press his hands over his ears in a desperate attempt to make the noise _stop._ But it was a fruitless effort. If anything, the music seemed to only grow louder.

As the vision inside the orb unfolded, Eren saw a mass of pulsating energy in the center. Like the web of orbs, it seemed to be every color at once. Long, rope-like tendrils of energy writhed and twisted around the central mass in obscene and awful ways, as if dancing to the hideous beat that surrounded it. _Azathoth,_ the name came unbidden into Eren's mind. _The blind idiot-god in the center of everything, kept in thrall by the mad beating of drums and the awful whine of flutes._

Surrounding Azathoth were Eren's dead comrades and family, kept in a writhing, mindless sort of ecstasy by the same music that imprisoned the god. He could see Marco, drooling as he pounded on a drum made of what looked disturbingly like freckled human skin. Mina, shrieking a song of agony alongside Thomas, whose arms flapped like pieces of dead meat against a pair of smaller drums. And worst of all, Eren's mother, drooling and blubbering around a thin flute in her mouth as she rolled and writhed about on her knees.

Out of the corner of his eyes Eren saw a whip of energy lash out from one of the orbs and wrap itself around Mikasa's waist, dragging her kicking and screaming inside of itself. He tried desperately to close his eyes, to tear his head away from the horrible scene in front of him, but to no avail. It was as if Eren's head was caught in a vise that made movement impossible.

It was worthless, anyway. The one terrible piece of knowledge Eren had gotten out of all of this was that his pitiful human life was _nothing_ against the power of the Outer Gods. All humans were as insects, merely crawling over the surface of the earth for a short time before their inevitable end. Even if the Titans didn't exterminate humanity, eventually something else would. Then the Old Ones would return once more, to warp and change the world as they saw fit.

Everything Eren had hoped and dreamed for, his will to exterminate the Titans and find freedom...none of it _mattered_ anymore. He'd gotten what he wanted - to be reunited once more with the dead. Now, he would dance with them around Azathoth forever.

Eren suddenly found himself able to open his mouth. As the sky crumbled and the trees fell around him, as long tendrils of energy coiled around his arms and legs to drag him closer and closer to Azathoth...all Eren could do was scream.

And scream.

And scream...

**Author's Note:**

> It's possible that Eren, Mikasa, and Armin die at the end of this.
> 
> It's also possible that they live. Depends on how you want to read it, honestly.
> 
> (though if the trio does survive, they're probably in for a lot worse than just death).


End file.
